Writer’s memo
I wanted to write about my travels, my love of food and the fun I have in cooking classes. I want the reader to know how much I have to have learning to cook in places around the world. I want the reader to read this article and want to run out and take a cooking class herself!Next, I want to express the joy of cooking as well as the fun and adventure of travel. I need the reader to want to give travel and cooking a try. I could use feedback near the beginning or the end. I looked at your comments which were really helpful for me.
Cooking Classes
Imagine the tastes and smells of far off places.  Tangy spices that light your mouth on fire.  Sweet exotic fruit that melts when you bite down. One of my favorite parts of traveling is tasting all the amazing local food and learning how to cook it. My family and I have been to many places in the world. I’ve been to Aruba, Bahamas, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Singapore, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam.  I have taken cooking classes in many of these countries.  Eating and cooking in foreign places have taught me great techniques for cooking.  It has also allowed me to understand local cultures as food is usually a huge part of a culture.
In Vietnam, I went to the local market and learned how to buy fresh vegetables and noodles.  We tasted all sorts of amazing food that was sold right on the street from carts such as spring rolls and pho, all of which were really good.  After exploring the market, the chef of our cooking class took us to his kitchen and we learned how to make caramel pork, pho, and fried spring rolls. The fried spring rolls were very crunchy. We learned to roll out the rice papers with our hands and to add just a touch of egg to keep the roll altogether.
In Italy, our cooking instructor, Chef Massimo, also took us to a market.  This was a fish market.  He showed us how to smell the fish and make sure it was fresh.  Week old fish has a very unpleasant smell!  Back in his kitchen, we learned how to make macaroni and caponata. The caponata recipe follows:
5 tablespoons olive oil, 1 1/2-pound eggplant, unpeeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and salted water, 1 medium onion, cubed, 4 large garlic cloves, chopped, 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings in juice, 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, and 2 tablespoons drained capers.
The ingredients are slowly heated in olive oil.  The aromatics (onion and garlic) are cooked separately.  Then all ingredients are mixed together and cooled to room temperature.
I helped the fellow classmates in our cooking class people make the caponata.  We also made macaroni which was really hard because we had to roll the macaroni dough around a thin metal sphere to create the noodle shape.  My favorite dish was fried zucchini flowers stuffed with spiced ricotta cheese which my brother and I played a large role in making.   My family has made these Italian recipes throughout the summer.  We were able to buy zucchini flowers are the farmer’s market this summer. 
In Tanzania, we helped the Hadzabe bushmen cook a small bird. A tribesman killed a bird and then plucked then plucked the feathers off the bird. A bushman guide made a fire by quickly rubbing two pieces of wood together.  A small fire ignited and he added leaves and small sticks.  The fire grew and he placed the bird on a stick and roasted it over the fire.  The bird was bony and did not have a lot of meat on it.  This is the one and maybe only meal I didn’t  eat. We declined to eat the bird because we were worried we would get sick (and it didn’t look very appetizing).
I have one big cooking goal which is still unmet.  I want to learn how to make fantastic orange chicken from Asia which I have learned to make it’s really easy I just have to put the chicken into orange then you just have to cook it for half an hour or until it’s tender enough to eat. You just put good sauce on it with rice or chow mein which is noodles with vegetables then if you want to make it spicy then you just put sriracha sauce on it.   Maybe some more traveling is in order for my family. 
Next year we might go to Morocco or Croatia and definitely, we are going to  Ecuador.  I hope we make yummy couscous in Morocco or schnitzel in Croatia or perhaps Arroz con Pollo in Ecuador. Which is a chicken dish with potatoes, bell peppers, rice, and finally olives!  It is amazing how much food differs throughout the world.  There are many places I want to see and many flavors I want to experience.  Let’s go explore!